Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Book 4 (Psalms 90-106)
Psalm 90[a]
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
90 O Lord, you have been our protector[b] through all generations.
2 Even before the mountains came into existence,[c]
or you brought the world into being,[d]
you were the eternal God.[e]
3 You make mankind return[f] to the dust,[g]
and say, “Return, O people.”
4 Yes,[h] in your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday that quickly passes,
or like one of the divisions of the nighttime.[i]
5 You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.”[j]
In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up:
6 In the morning it glistens[k] and sprouts up;
at evening time it withers[l] and dries up.
7 Yes,[m] we are consumed by your anger;
we are terrified by your wrath.
8 You are aware of our sins;[n]
you even know about our hidden sins.[o]
9 Yes,[a] throughout all our days we experience your raging fury;[b]
the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh.[c]
10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years,[d]
or eighty, if one is especially strong.[e]
But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression.[f]
Yes,[g] they pass quickly[h] and we fly away.[i]
11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger?[j]
Your raging fury causes people to fear you.[k]
Judgment on the Mountains of Israel
6 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, turn toward[a] the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them. 3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel,[b] hear the word of the Sovereign Lord![c] This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing[d] a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.[e] 4 Your altars will be ruined and your incense altars will be broken. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols.[f] 5 I will place the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their idols,[g] and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6 In all your dwellings, the cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined so that your altars will be laid waste and ruined, your idols will be shattered and demolished, your incense altars will be broken down, and your works wiped out.[h] 7 The slain will fall among you and then you will know that I am the Lord.[i]
8 “‘But I will spare some of you. Some will escape the sword when you are scattered in foreign lands.[j] 9 Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize[k] how I was crushed by their unfaithful[l] heart that turned from me and by their eyes that lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves[m] because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices. 10 They will know that I am the Lord; my threats to bring this catastrophe on them were not empty.[n]
11 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and say, “Ah!” because of all the evil, abominable practices of the house of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence.[o] 12 The one far away will die by pestilence, the one close by will fall by the sword, and whoever is left and has escaped these[p] will die by famine. I will fully vent my rage against them. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord when their dead lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every green tree and every leafy oak[q]—the places where they have offered fragrant incense to all their idols. 14 I will stretch out my hand against them[r] and make the land a desolate waste from the wilderness to Riblah,[s] in all the places where they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
The Bowls of God’s Wrath
16 Then[a] I heard a loud voice from the temple declaring to the seven angels: “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls containing God’s wrath.”[b] 2 So[c] the first angel[d] went and poured out his bowl on the earth. Then[e] ugly and painful sores[f] appeared on the people[g] who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.
3 Next,[h] the second angel[i] poured out his bowl on the sea and it turned into blood, like that of a corpse, and every living creature that was in the sea died.
4 Then[j] the third angel[k] poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned into blood. 5 Now[l] I heard the angel of the waters saying:
“You are just[m]—the one who is and who was,
the Holy One—because you have passed these judgments,[n]
6 because they poured out the blood of your saints and prophets,
so[o] you have given them blood to drink. They got what they deserved!”[p]
7 Then[q] I heard the altar reply,[r] “Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful,[s] your judgments are true and just!”
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